Gone
by foxy11814
Summary: This is my take on what happened before and after the Kents find out Clark is gone to Metropolis after Season 2. Please read and review.
1. Default Chapter

Okay, this is my first attempt at writing a Smallville fanfic. I have wrote stories about The X-Files and wrestling, of all things, lol. Anyway, please let me know whether you like this or not, and I'll continue . I've always wondered what happened between seasons 2 and 3, and here's my little take on that.

Don't own the characters or Smallville, though I wish I did.

Rating: G, but may end up being PG eventually

Gone

He held Martha's hand and stared at her face as she slept. It had been one of the worst days in their lives. She had lost the baby and there was nothing either one could do now but feel the loss of a little life that could have been. Deep in his heart, he knew something like this would happen. He didn't want to admit it, but he had problems grasping that his wife had actually become pregnant. It wasn't supposed to have happened. The doctors had told him and Martha that she would never be able to conceive. The ship had changed that, and he honestly didn't know how to feel. Sitting here now, he couldn't help but think that the inevitable had happened. "The child wasn't meant to be," he whispered to himself so softly he couldn't even hear the words.

His thoughts eventually drifted to Clark. He closed his eyes and felt a wave of guilt wash over him. His mind kept replaying what had happened in the very hall outside of the room he was in now. He did something he thought he would never do: he turned his back on his son. He basically blamed Clark for his mother being in the hospital, and then moments later, they learned the baby had died. Without a doubt Clark was blaming himself. Of that, Jonathan was sure. Clark always takes the blame for things that couldn't possibly be his fault.

He reopened his eyes and stared at his wife once again. He was torn. He wanted to stay with his wife because he knew she needed him, but he wanted to go after Clark and tell him that he didn't mean what he said. He was just hurt and scared; he never meant to take it out on him.

He looked through the blinds out into the hall. There wasn't a trace of Clark anywhere and that actually scared Jonathan. Any other time when one of the people Clark loved was in the hospital, he was with that person constantly, watching him or her like a hawk. Now his very own mother was in the hospital and it seemed like he dropped off the face of the Earth. He knew Clark was purposely staying away because of what had happened. He sighed loudly and brought his hand to his face to rub his weary eyes. When he reopened them and glanced at his wife, he was startled to see her looking up at him.

"Jonathan," she questioned softly, then she looked around the room. Now, she remembered why she was here. The truck had flipped and she had lost the baby. She closed her eyes for several seconds and then looked at her husband.

He saw the tears that were threatening to fall. "I'm here," he said quickly. "Everything's going to be okay." He reached down to hug her but she stopped his actions with one question.

"Where's Clark?"

He knew the question would come eventually, and he didn't honestly want to answer it. He looked down at their adjoined hands and whispered, "I don't know."

Martha's eyebrows furrowed and she tried to sit up a little further in bed, wincing in the process. "He hasn't been here to see me once. Is he okay? What happened?"

Jonathan looked up at the ceiling and Martha instantly knew something was wrong. She squeezed his hand tighter and said, "Jonathan, what happened?"

He couldn't look at her, not even if he tried. He still stared at their hands and told her that Clark had stolen Lionel's kryptonite key and put it in the ship. After he was through, Martha could only think of one thing to ask. "Okay…so if Clark has destroyed the ship and everything is fine, why isn't he here now?"

Jonathan chanced a look at her face. He could see that his wife was scared. She just lost one child and she was obviously afraid she was losing another. He sighed once more and whispered, "I said some things to Clark that I shouldn't have."

Martha's hand immediately shot up and went under Jonathan's chin. She brought his face up to hers so they could look into each other's eyes. She saw the pain there and she could tell it was killing him. "Oh, God, Jonathan," she whispered, "what happened?"

Jonathan looked back down again and hung his head in shame. "I don't know what came over me. I was just so scared I was losing you and the baby that I lashed out at him. I know I shouldn't have done it now, but…I don't know. I basically blamed him for putting you in the hospital, and now he's thinks he killed his little brother or sister, as well."

Tears were now seeping down both their faces. Martha wiped his away tenderly and said, "You have to go find him."

He shook his head and said, "I can't leave you in the hospital. I'll set things right with him when we get home."

Martha shook her head profusely. "It can't wait," she said. "I'll be alright. Go find our son and bring him here. I want to see him. I need to see him."

The desperation in her voice instantly brought Jonathan to his feet. He nodded at her and realized she was right. It couldn't wait. He kissed Martha on the lips and walked out of the room. Once he got out of the hospital, he ran to the truck and sped all the way home.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews. I really appreciate it. I hope you like this chapter, as well.

Chapter 2

As Jonathan pulled up to the farm, he could barely control the urge to jump out of the truck even though it was still moving. He couldn't explain why, but actually waiting to stop the vehicle and turn it off seemed like it would take an eternity. Once he was onhis way home, the urgency to see his son's face rose to an all time high. He had never before felt the emotions he was feeling now so profoundly. He wanted to set things right with his son. No, he needed to.

When he finally stepped out of the truck and looked around at the farm, he immediately became alarmed. Clark was nowhere in sight. Normally when he arrived home, especially after being gone for so long, Clark would come out and greet him. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He had to keep reminding himself that right now their relationship was not on the best of terms. Clark was probably too scared or upset to come out and face him; he was scared he would get another lecture on making unwise decisions. A tear slipped down Jonathan's face and he quickly wiped it away. "Oh, Clark," he whispered softly, "I would take it back if I could."

Jonathan immediately went to the first place he thought of to look for his son: the barn, Clark's Fortress of Solitude. He walked inside and immediately yelled, "Clark." He expected to hear his son's voice but only deafening silence answered him. He immediately climbed the steps to the loft and looked around. All the lights were turned off and it gave Jonathan a chill. "Where is he," he thought.

He went back downstairs and walked back into the sunlight. The need to find Clark was intensifying every second he couldn't find him. He looked at the house, quickly ran to it, and went inside. He once again yelled his son's name and once again he was greeted with the same silence. Even though he knew Clark wouldn't ignore his calls intentionally, he climbed the stairs anyway and went to Clark's room. He was actually hoping he would find Clark laying on his bed with a mad and stubborn expression on his face. That he could handle, but not finding him was becoming too overwhelming. He was on the verge of freaking out, and that was saying something because Jonathan Kent doesn't freak out.

He took a long calming breath and went back downstairs. "He's probably out with Pete or Lana somewhere," he told himself. He inhaled deeply again. He walked around the house looking for any trace of Clark and perhaps where he had gone. He found nothing.

He picked up the phone and was about to call Pete when he heard the front door open. Jonathan immediately dropped the phone back on the counter, said his son's name loudly, and whirled around to see Lana standing there with tears streaming down her face.

"Lana," he said surprised. He crossed the room to meet her and asked, "What's wrong?"

Somehow he knew it had to do with Clark. Deep in his heart he knew something had happened.

"Oh, Mr. Kent," sobbed Lana.

Jonathan didn't know what else to do so he hugged the young girl. As Lana's tears subsided, he pulled away from her and asked, "Are you okay?"

Lana nodded feeling so selfish. Here she was crying because Clark had left and his father was standing here not knowing. She wiped her eyes and shook her head. "No, I'm not," she answered truthfully, "but I'm not here to talk about how I'm feeling. I have to tell you something about Clark." Lana immediately turned away from Jonathan. She didn't want to see his face once she told him that his only son had run away from home and that she didn't stop him.

"What is it, Lana?"

She closed her eyes and let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "Clark left," she said softly. It was the only words she could muster at this point in time. The tears immediately fell once more.

Jonathan stood there not knowing what to say and, more importantly, what to do. He stared at the back of Lana's head and finally gasped out, "He left?"

Lana finally turned around and looked into Mr. Kent's eyes. She started crying harder and said, "He wasn't making any sense. He kept blaming himself for Mrs. Kent losing the baby and for whatever happened with that hole. He said he brought nothing but pain to everyone's lives. I tried to stop him from leaving, Mr. Kent, but I couldn't."

Jonathan felt sick. He couldn't hardly breathe, and he certainly couldn't believe his ears. He immediately turned around and reached out a shaky hand to lean on the table. "This is all my fault," Jonathan whispered a little too loudly.

Lana winced at his words. It reminded her of Clark. She fought the urge to get on to Mr. Kent for thinking such a thing, but then she realized she didn't know what happened. Something obviously made Clark feel like he had to run away, and something obviously made his father think he was at fault.

Jonathan finally regained his composure enough to turn to Lana and ask, "Do you know where he went?"

She shook her head sadly. "No."

Jonathan turned back around and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. He then said, "Lana, I appreciate you coming to tell me. You should go on home and get some rest. I'll look for Clark."

Lana nodded at him even though he couldn't see the gesture since he had his back to her. She quietly slipped out of the house without another word. She knew he wanted to be alone so he could figure out exactly how to find Clark. She went down the steps and looked at the spot where Clark had left her. "We're going to bring you back," she whispered. Of that much, she was certain.

Jonathan was still standing in the same stop he had been in when Lana left. He knew he had to do something, but he didn't know exactly what. He knew eventually he would have to tell Martha that Clark had ran away. He also knew he would have to go out and find Clark. He just didn't know what order to them in. He sighed deeply and suddenly realized he couldn't keep Martha in the dark about this. Someone was bound to show up at the hospital and tell her he had left. He wanted to be the one who broke the news. He picked up the phone and dialed the hospital, thenhe suddenly clicked it off. He couldn't do it over the phone. He had to face her face-to-face even though he knew it would be one of the hardest things he would ever have to do. It was because of him that their son was gone...

Martha knew something was wrong. She could feel it. The longer the time passed since Jonathan left, the more anxious she became. She kept staring at the door waiting for Jonathan and Clark to walk through it, but they never came. When Jonathan did walk through the door after several hours, she immediately noticed their son was not with him.

Before Martha could get a word out, Jonathan closed his eyes and tried to hold back the tears.

Martha covered her mouth with her hand. She knew it was bad. Her husband would never cry over nothing. "Jonathan," she whispered and held her hand out to him. He immediately walked over to her and grasped her hand so tightly that she was afraid he was going to cut off the circulation. She wanted to ask him where Clark was and what had happened, but she decided to wait and let him tell her when he was ready.

It took several minutes before Jonathan was able to talk. "I…" he started and his voice immediately broke. He cleared his voice and looked at his wife sorrowfully. "I couldn't find him," he whispered.

Martha breathed in sharply but reminded herself to stay calm. "I'm sure he's out somewhere with Pete blowing off some steam."

Jonathan immediately shook his head. "No." It was all he could say.

Martha waited for him to continue but when he didn't, she softly asked, "Why do you say that?"

He knew he was about to tear her world apart, but she had the right to know. She is Clark's mother, after all. "Lana came over to the farm while I was there."

"And," Martha asked softly. She could tell Jonathan needed some persuading to get the story out of him. He seemed reluctant to tell her even though she knew he had come here for that purpose.

Jonathan looked down at their hands. He knew it was becoming a habit nowadays. "She told me Clark had run away," he answered finally. He heard her breathe in sharply and he looked up into her eyes. Tears glistened her eyes and his tearsstarted to fall all over again. He shook his head and cried, "I'm so sorry, Martha. I knew I shouldn't have spoken to him the way I did. I drove our son away and I will never forgive myself for that."

Martha immediately pulled Jonathan down to sit on the bed beside her. Once he was sitting, she leaned up and hugged him tightly. "Don't say that," she whispered. "This isn't your fault. Clark's biological father is the one whowas pushing him to leave, not you."

Jonathan shook his head almost violently. "He may have kept pushing, but I was the one who made it happen, Martha."

"No," she said sharply.

"You weren't there," he cried. "I treated our son horribly and now he's gone. He left because of me."

Martha hugged Jonathan tighter and said, "He'll come home eventually. He may just need some space right now."

Jonathan pulled back and said, "But what if he doesn't."

"Then we'll go out and find him. One way or another, he'll come home, Jonathan."

Jonathan didn't look so convinced and his expression turned even more grim when they heard a voice from the door say, "Yeah, but it's going to be a lot harder than you think."

Jonathan and Martha immediately broke their embrace and looked towards the door. Pete stood there and quickly walked inside. He had heard the tail end of their conversation and knew they knew Clark was gone. As Clark's parents made eye contact with him, he explained his earlier statement: "Clark's wearing red kryptonite."


End file.
